Wednesday, November 23, 2005
The First Time
Lang Whitaker, an editor and contributor for Slam Magazine, a hip-hop hoops magazine, went to his first NHL game. And he loved it.
What I enjoyed the most about the experience of going to a hockey game was the relative peace and quiet of the game. Go to an NBA or NFL game,and you're assaulted by loud music, flying t-shirts, hopped-up dance teams. There was music at The Garden, but unless you count Sweet Caroline as a club banger, it was like spending an afternoon at a pizza joint with an outdated jukebox. During timeouts (are they called timeouts?) an organ would play, and people would be able to talk to their neighbors. It was as if hockey was saying, Here we are -- love us or leave us. And despite the extended lockout, the fans seem to have come back in full force. They love it.I remember when I first moved to Canada, I got lacrosse and hockey mixed up. Don't worry, Mr. Whitaker, we all started somewhere.
Saturday night, after the game, I was thinking maybe I should pick a team to support. I could go with my hometown Thrashers, but having been in New York almost six years now, I'd like to have at least one team up here to root for. I haven't learned when to yell "Potvin Sucks!" or how to differentiate between the various penalties, and I can recognize about five hockey players, mostly by their hair. I still have a lot to learn, I suppose. But then, we all have to start somewhere.
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